Oil Mats After BP Spill Pose Long-Term Ecosystem Threat: Study

Reuters reported that Auburn University researchers commented oil mats submerged in the seabed more than a year after BP spill pose long-term threats to coastal ecosystems across the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The market news is quoted as saying:

The study, released on Tuesday by the school’s engineering department, showed that tarballs churned to the surface by Tropical Storm Lee and deposited along Alabama beaches this month had “essentially identical” chemical composition as samples taken from mats after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“Our interpretation of these observations is that submerged tar mats buried offshore of this coastline are breaking apart to yield these tar balls,” the study reads, estimating the tarballs in question contained about 17 percent oil by mass.

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